Last week marked the soft launch of emuallim.com, a one-on-one Arab online tutoring platform targeted toward the estimated 9 million broadband Internet users located in Arab nations (including North Africa). The company promises online rates that are cheaper than local services. Additionally, emuallim notes that their services may provide “supplementary education for girl students without altering the social structure of the region.” Apparently, tutors (located around the world) can earn upwards of US$1200 per month, although the typical pay is probably much lower.

muallim: A knowledgeable professional who can guide the pilgrim during Hajj. – ummah.net

As of early May, the company is still interviewing and training tutors. In time, it will be interesting to see how many clients (or tutors, for that matter) reside in North Africa. Although students in Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are all welcome to use the platform, the limited availability of broadband service may limit activity from Africa. Interestingly, pricing may actually not be a limiting factor. For now, the first month of unlimited tutoring is free. Pricing for the second month tends to start at US$99 per month. Will students in Sudan therefore use emuallim for a month and then quit? And, will students without a private Internet access point will be motivated to use the service as those with a home computer? Lastly, how numerous will tutors from North Africa be on the site? Stay tuned!